Archives for February 2004

Q. I intend to come to Canada as a visitor for several months. If I find a job during that time, can I change my status while in Canada?

Answer: Specific provisions to ‘change’ status under such circumstances do not exist, but an applicant can apply for a work permit or for permanent resident status while within Canada. Such an application would have to be submitted to a visa office outside of Canada, and to which the applicant is entitled to submit the case, however.

If your Canadian status expires during the time that you were seeking such authorization to live and work here, you may still be required to leave while the decision is pending. Such an application would not, in itself, be grounds for extension of status in Canada.

The Minister of Immigration, Judy Srgo, have begun investigations into private language schools in order to enhance the foreign student program. Amidst complaints that many such private institutions do not offer an adequate education, the process of accrediting such colleges is being reviewed.

The 11 immigration ministers will also discuss how ESL courses can assist
in upgrading foreign credentials, allowing more offshore trained immigrants
to work in Canada in their respective professions.

Courchesne, who will head up public consultations on the issue, said young Quebecers will suffer without an increase in the number of new arrivals. “It’s hard to imagine the costs of a drop in population growth,” Courchesne said in a statement. “It will put an enormous strain on our institutions, notably our health system.” Courchesne said 2.2 million Quebecers will be 65 years of age or older by 2031, according to projections.

The number of younger residents is expected to drop during the same period, said the minister.

A looming and “severe” labour shortage will put “significant strain” on Canada’s public and private pension system, according to a study by Watson Wyatt Canada.

The consulting company predicts that over the coming decade, Canada’s pool of workers will grow more slowly than the population, then stagnate, before shrinking in the 2020s and eventually lead to a labour shortage. . . . In Canada, fertility rates have fallen below replacement levels but robust immigration levels will sustain meagre population growth over the long-term, the study found.

It put forth a number of suggestion on how countries can counter the problem: allow older workers to keep working, increase immigration, or being into the labour market previously untapped workers such as younger people and women.

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